The Sock 'Em, Bust 'Em Board Because that's our custom

Not so fast, Patrick White

July 16, 2008 by Mike Casazza

Through the years and all the mind-boggling runs and speed exhibitions, we’ve come to accept that Patrick White is one of the fastest players in college football. Some might say the fastest. It’s probably impossible to figure out who is No. 1, though you’d accept a case for White. Just watching some of the things he does and the ease with which he adds distance between him and defenders is pretty convincing.

Well, it turns out that he isn’t the fastest player in the country. Nor is he the fastest player on the team. Why, if you choose to believe the WVU media guide, Heisman Trophy candidate Patrick White is the seventh fastest player on the team, which, of course, is a splendid problem for Bill Stewart.

Fear not: Gordon Malone is dominant

by Mike Casazza

Much was made about Joe Alexander — by the way, much better yesterday— breaking WVU’s 11-year draft drought when the Milwaukee Bucks made him the first Mountaineers player selected since Gordon Malone went to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the second round in 1997.

Many have since wondered what exactly happened to Malone, who was a pretty good, though not a great player for the Mountaineers in 1996-97. Well, he’s literally trotted the globe. According to the New York Post, Malone, now 33, is “dominating” something called the ABA. He’s also somewhat regretful.

After two years playing at West Virginia, Malone entered the 1997 NBA Draft, landing with the Minnesota Timberwolves, who selected him with the 44th overall pick, but Malone was cut before the regular season.

“I was supposed to go in the first round, so it was surprising when I dropped,” Malone said. “It was stunning because I didn’t leave school to go in the second round.

“Of course I wish I would’ve never come out that year, but I can’t do anything about that now. I say to all kids now that are coming out that they should stay in school.”

Joe Alexander, Take Two

July 15, 2008 by Mike Casazza

Joe Alexander’s professional debut didn’t go well, though I happen to think that he got to play 33+ minutes while missing 11 of 13 shots was pretty encouraging. And if we’ve learned anything about him the past few months it’s that he treats a slump with success. He doesn’t allow himself to stay down very long and the rise is usually exciting. Summer League game two is at 6 p.m. tonight and you can watch it online.

Signings

by Mike Casazza

One isn’t a very big surprise and one is very pleasant to see as two former WVU football players drafted in April have signed contracts. Granted, they still have to make the team but Owen Schmitt and Ryan Mundy are both one step closer. Dan Mozes left a year before Schmitt and Mundy, but it looks like he’ll have a legitimate shot at making the Minnesota roster a year after blowing out his knee at practice.

Off to the Jam Fest, which was pretty good yesterday, but didn’t offer much in the line of WVU recruiting news. The 2010 commits, Noah Cottrill and Storm Stanley, played, but 2009 recruits Dalton Pepper and Aric Murray did not travel with their teams.

Warning: May cause goosebumps

July 14, 2008 by Mike Casazza

The 2008 WVU men’s basketball recruiting video is out now and that school continues to put together a very fine product. Most impressive, I think, is that it manages to accurately portray just how emotional the second round game was against Duke. Give yourself 12 minutes to soak it all in.

P.S.
It’s still not as good as the 2005 version.

The qualifications of Kerns

by Mike Casazza

Hypothetically speaking, say I just interviewed for a blogging job with a NFL franchise and things went well enough I was legitimately worried about having to make a decision that would alter my past, present and future, that I started to realize this journalism think might surrender to that blogging thing. The prospect of doing something new in a professional organization would be exhilarating, but I’d also know I was going to miss what I’d gone to school to learn and had since done for six mostly great years.

Crazy, you say, because the lure of the NFL would overpower the anchor of the newspaper world. Maybe so, but then someone like Terence Kerns comes along and you begin to understand about the anchor.

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Talking points

by Mike Casazza

…from the weekend that was. For your use in elevator rides, trips to the water cooler and other awkward moments on a Monday.

> Terence Kerns qualified academically and the fast and powerful running back certainly changes the way WVU’s backfield looks.

> You won’t hear such a thing from WVU, but Youngstown State welcomed a pretty good offensive lineman.

> Joe Alexander’s professional debut could have been worse. After all, he did get squeeze off 13 shots.

> The light was seen in Michigan.

> Wellington Smith and Da’Sean Butler are off to a good start with Athletes in Action at the Jones Cup. The team began play 3-1 and Butler and Smith have had their share of highlights (Butler, obviously, at the start; Smith 10 seconds in and, I think, at the very end … More video from the Jones Cup can be found here; Smith and Butler play for AIA).

Friday Feedback

July 11, 2008 by Mike Casazza

An abbreviated version of the Friday Feedback greets you today. I have some schedule conflicts that need to be settled, but, honestly, many of the week’s comments deserve presentation rather than discussion.

Take p.i. reed, who was somewhat tickled to learn P-Rod was settling. Seriously, what do you do with something like this trio of comments other than take them in and be thankful that you did?

p.i. reed said:

I want it paid in dollar bills, personally counted out by Fraudriguez on a table at the 50-yard line ….. at Homecoming … with the band in a tight circle around him … playing Country Roads.

sound fair?

p.i. reed said:

… and then I want Bill Stewart to push one dollar back across the table and say, “Don’t go away mad.”

p.i. reed said:

… and I want him to have to walk through the tailgate section to get back to his car …. where a drunken Pike is puking on his hood.

It’s one of the top 10 moments the blog has witnessed. It had some company this week and I see no reason to wait any longer. Onto the Feedback. As always, comments appear as posted. In other words, stay on your toes.

Homer said:

It was pretty predictable he wasn’t going to let Product Rita get deposed. That would begin the Parade of Realtors.

I’m not sure I follow.

glibglub said:

Ah, the Parade of Realtors . . . next to the Dance of the Sugarplum Fairies, it’s my fave part of The Nutcracker Suite.

Well, now I get it.

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Announcement soon (Update!)

July 10, 2008 by Mike Casazza

Keep an eye on your favorite WVU-run Web site, MSNSportsnet.com, for word that Dee Proby has signed with the Mountaineers.

(Well, that didn’t take very long. Release after the jump.)

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I think Joe can afford it

by Mike Casazza

When Joe Alexander finally strayed from his quest for solitude, he made something of a promise. You see, every so often WVU will hit the Big East Tournament at Madison Square Garden when the New York Knicks are in town. It’s not hard to get a seat to a game, but it can be difficult to get a good seat even for the Trail Blazers, as was the case last year.

So as the conversation with Joe wandered into different areas and came to an end, I pleadinglyjokingly asked that if by some weird quirk the team that drafts him is in NYC just before the Big East Tournament, or if the Knicks drafted him and they were home just before the Big East Tournament, could he perhaps leave me some tickets.  

“I can do that, but you have to do something for me.”
“… OK …”
“You need to write another story about Mazzulla’s parrot. That was one of our favorites.”
“Deal!”

So I caught up with Mazzulla the other day and told him the deal: I needed to write a second story about the parrot his roommates, Da’Sean Butler, Johnnie West and Cam Thoroughman, gave him for his birthday last year. The four of them then nurtured the bird, trained it to conquer obstacle courses, spoiled it with every bird toy imaginable and slowly taught it to speak. It was time for an update.

Mazzulla laughed. “We got rid of that thing a while ago.”

This, of course, was about the same time I’d driven about half of the trip to Pittsburgh to see the players in the Pittsburgh Basketball Club’s Pro-Am League, only for Mazzulla to alert me the players weren’t going that day. 

It seems to me, though, that Alexander can solve all of these problems. He can easily buy a parrot and a pay for a caretaker and also buy me tickets to whatever Knicks game precedes the Big East Tournament because he’s come into quite a bit of money.

Rookie forward Joe Alexander signed a contract with the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday, a deal that guarantees him $4.15 million over the first two years.

Under the league’s rookie salary scale, the Bucks hold options for the third and fourth years of the deal, at $2.3 million and $2.9 million, respectively.